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Loneliness affects life expectancy worse than obesity
Can loneliness and social isolation be a threat to people's life expectancy? Researchers now found that loneliness significantly increases mortality and even exceeds the magnitude of the risk of obesity-related health problems.
Unfortunately, there are more and more people today who suffer from loneliness in their lives. Researchers at Brigham Young University found in their study that isolation and loneliness are important factors when it comes to reducing life expectancy. The doctors published the results of their study in the journal "PLOS Medicine".
Despite growing communication possibilities, more and more people suffer from loneliness and social isolation. This can lead to life expectancy being reduced for those affected. (Image: nikodash / fotolia.com) More and more people live alone
Obesity and obesity are unfortunately widespread in today's society. The effects of weight problems can be so severe that they even lead to death. The effects of loneliness and social isolation are comparably serious, according to the authors of the new study. Also, more and more people in the US would live alone, less and less people would marry and fewer children would be born.
Social isolation and loneliness lead to a shortened life expectancy
Being socially connected with other people is widely considered a basic human need for well-being and human survival, explains author Julianne Holt-Lunstad of Brigham Young University. There is "robust evidence that social isolation and loneliness significantly increase the risk of premature mortality," adds the expert.
What effect does an intact strong relationship have on life expectancy??
By examining social relationships, health status and causes of mortality, the team was able to quantify a difference between socially isolated individuals and those with stronger social attachments. People with a strong social relationship had a 50 percent chance that they lived longer than the isolated subjects.
Effects of the loneliness effect are enormous
The magnitude of the observed effect exceeds many known risk factors for mortality. These include, for example, obesity and physical inactivity. Several results from other studies were evaluated for the study. Particular attention was paid to how many people die alone, are socially isolated or live completely alone. All of these factors lead to an increased probability of mortality by about 26 to 32 percent, the experts explain.
Loneliness can lead to mental health problems and cardiovascular diseases
There is an increasing awareness of the negative health effects of loneliness and social isolation. The results of previous studies, for example, have already shown that there is an increased risk of psychological problems and cardiovascular diseases in living individuals alone.
More and more people live in loneliness
More than a quarter of people live alone in the USA. Similar trends have been observed in other countries around the world, such as India and the United Kingdom, where loneliness is particularly acute in the elderly, the researchers explain. With an aging population, the impact on public health can only be estimated, adds Holt-Lunstad.
How can we fight against loneliness??
There is a kind of loneliness epidemic in many countries, and the challenge is to develop successful ways of countering it. "We must take collective action to combat loneliness as a threat to public health, for example by providing social skills training for children at school," say the researchers. At the individual level, we should focus our attention on our relationships. To overcome loneliness, we should improve the quality of our relationships by improving the intimacy with the people around us, experts suggest. (As)